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Policeman cries while dispersing protesters and is hugged by the very people he is trying to prevent from breaking the police line

It was a long and tiring dispersal of protesters outside the Batasang Pambansa where President Benigno Aquino III delivered his SONA July 22, 2013. Amid the clashes, a foreign protester berated a policeman, asking him why they were hurting people.

The officer stood his ground and said that he is a policeman whose job was to maintain peace and order. Suddenly the policeman cried. The foreigner kept on shouting at the officer. He was still crying. He was trying to hold his tears but he can't

full story:

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/focus/07/23/1...crying-cop

reading this made me shed a tear as well. We are all humans doing the best we can, in an environment where the politics and money distort our basic good nature.

Crying cop

It was a long and tiring dispersal. According to reports, at least 50 were injured in the clashes.

But amid the chaos, my lens caught a scene I thought I would never see during a dispersal.

A foreign protester was berating a policeman asking him why they were hurting the people. “Why are you doing this to us? Why are you hurting us?!”


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The officer simply stood his ground. “I am a policeman, I’m just doing my job.”

He said his job was to maintain peace and order. He said they were given orders and they had to follow.

Suddenly, the police officer cried.

The foreigner kept on shouting at the cop. But the policeman couldn't stop crying. He was trying to hold his tears, but he couldn't.

Another round of clashes erupted. The policemen were still trying to push and shove the protesters away. The crying cop simply stood his ground. He was still holding his shield firmly. Still weeping, sobbing.

Later, I approached the policeman and asked him his name. He said he is Joselito. A quick glance at his name tag revealed he is policeman Joselito Sevilla.

He said he is a private, and his uniform patch showed he is from the Marikina police unit.

Asked why he cried, he only said: "Sa gutom at pagod. Walang tulog. Walang pahinga. Dalawang araw na kami naka-deploy dito. Tapos ganito, nagkakagulo."

It was also PO1 Sevilla's first dispersal assignment.

Realization

I finally understood him. No sleep. No food. No rest. And he came face-to-face with protesters whose goal was to break the police line.

Sevilla was physically and emotionally exhausted.

But he was following orders. He was just doing his job not to let protesters get near the Batasan Complex.

He did not hurt the protesters, even if some were already throwing rocks and hitting cops with wooden sticks.

Finally, some protesters noticed him, too: a policeman, whom they expected to retaliate, was in front of them, holding his shield firmly, weeping.

And then they started to console Sevilla. A man held his shoulder, telling him that everything would be all right. Another woman comforted him, as she tried to give him a handkerchief to wipe his tears.


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Amid the chaos, these two protesters hugged Sevilla and assured him everything would be fine.

Seconds later, other policemen noticed what was happening and they moved Sevilla away from the front lines, away from the activists.

I was caught in the middle and I couldn't find him anymore. He was gone.